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Whitley County, Kentucky
Whitley County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,637. The county seat is at Williamsburg, though the largest city is Corbin, and the county's District Court (a trial court of limited jurisdiction) sits in both cities. Whitley County is included in the London, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Whitley County was created on January 17, 1818 from adjacent Knox County, Kentucky.http://www.kycourts.net/Counties/Whitley_text.asp In the years prior to its establishment as an independent county, many skirmishes were fought between Indians and hunters and trappers in the area. The namesake of the county, Colonel William Whitley, is famous locally for fighting many of these battles within the area, safeguarding the Wilderness Road, as well as for his service in the War of 1812, where he was killed at the Battle of the Thames. The county seat, Williamsburg, is also named for Colonel Whitley, with the first court held at the home of the town's earliest resident, Samuel Cox. Its rugged terrain, densely forested woodlands, and a history of conflict with local Indian tribes all combined to make for a very slow rate of growth in Whitley County. The development of the coal mining industry in the area towards the late 1800s spurred on population growth as poor families from neighboring states rushed into the county and led to the formation of Corbin, still the largest city in Whitley County. North Corbin, just north of Whitley County is home to Sanders Cafe, which is the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was founded there by Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, in 1930. Law and government The current elected officials of Whitley County are: *County Judge/Executive: Pat White, Jr. *County Magistrate: Scotty Harrison *County Magistrate: David Myers *County Magistrate: Jamie Fuson *County Magistrate: Robbie Brown *County Attorney: Don R. Moses *County Coroner: Andy Croley *County Treasurer: Jeffrey Gray *County Sheriff: Colan Harrell *County Surveyor: Robert Moses *Property Valuation Administrator: Ronnie Moses *County Clerk: Kay Schwartz *Circuit Court Clerk: Gary Barton Whitley County is a historically Republican county, and part of the pro-union bloc of southern Kentucky.Sullivan, Robert David; "How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century"; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 Although it does not match the nearby counties of Clay, Leslie, Jackson, Owsley, Monroe and the newer McCreary (all originally formed from Whitley) in having never voted Democratic,Maxwell, Brandt; "A Few Lists of 2008 Election Results (Part II)" the only Democrats who have carried the county were Woodrow Wilson in 1912 (when the Republican Party was bitterly divided) and Lyndon Baines Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964, with Goldwater losing by three votes. Public corruption From 2009 to 2011, young journalist Adam Sulfridge and his editor Samantha Swindler of the Times-Tribune (Corbin, KY) worked to expose corruption in the Whitley County Sheriff's Department. Then Sheriff Lawrence "Larry" Hodge was first elected in 2002. Sheriff Hodge built his reputation as a tough crime fighter, but most residents did not know the Sheriff accepted money in exchange for allowing defendants to walk free. Sheriff Hodge also stole seized firearms and drug evidence, according to the Times-Tribune and affidavits filed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A Whitley County special grand jury returned a 21-count indictment against Sheriff Hodge while he was still Sheriff (November 8, 2010). He remained Sheriff until the end of 2010. In the late spring of 2011, Hodge appeared in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in London and pleaded to an 'information.' That summer, Hodge was sentenced to 15.5 years in federal prison for drug trafficking, money laundering and extorting persons arrested by his department (with Williamsburg attorney Ronnie "Ron" W. Reynolds, who was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his part in the crimes). Kentucky state auditors determined at least $200,000 had been stolen or was otherwise missing from Sheriff Hodge's official accounts. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. Whitley County is located within the Cumberland Plateau of southeastern Kentucky, which is greatly overlapped by the broad Eastern Coal Field region of the state. Because of its location in the midst of Cumberland Mountains, elevations in the county range from to above sea level. of western Whitley County are preserved within the Daniel Boone National Forest. Cumberland Falls, located in Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, is the site of the largest waterfall in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Both Daniel Boone Forest and Cumberland Falls State Park are operated by the Kentucky State Parks system, also located in the county. Two regionally significant waterways meander through the county, namely the Laurel and Cumberland river. Geographic features *Cumberland Falls *Cumberland Plateau *Cumberland River *Jellico Mountain *Laurel River *Laurel River Lake Adjacent counties *Laurel County - north *Knox County - northeast *Bell County - east *Claiborne County, Tennessee - southeast *Campbell County, Tennessee - south *McCreary County - west National protected area * Daniel Boone National Forest (part) Transportation Major highways *Interstate 75 *U.S. Route 25W *Kentucky Route 11 *Kentucky Route 26 *Kentucky Route 90 *Kentucky Route 92 *Kentucky Route 312 *Kentucky Route 904 Airport *KBYL, Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport Demographics |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2013 }} As of the census of 2000, there were 35,865 people, 13,780 households, and 9,894 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.37% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.69% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. There were 13,780 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01. The age distribution was 25.80% under 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,075, and the median income for a family was $27,871. Males had a median income of $26,518 versus $17,001 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,777. About 21.60% of families and 26.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.10% of those under age 18 and 19.00% of those age 65 or over. Economy Whitley County's economy has always relied heavily on its natural resources, particularly coal and timber, as the area's heavily forested, mountainous terrain contains abundant sources of such material. Other resources worked in the area include iron, oil, and very small amounts of silver. Due to the rough territory created by the Cumberland Mountains, agriculture in the county has historically been quite stunted, although tobacco and corn are grown in some areas. Education K-12 Three public school districts serve the county: *Whitley County School Districtwww.whitley.kyschools.us **The largest of the three districts, it serves the county outside of the cities of Corbin and Williamsburg. *Williamsburg Independent School Districtwww.wburg.kyschools.us **Serves the city of Williamsburg with a single K-12 school. *Corbin Independent School District www.corbinschools.org **Serves the entire city of Corbin, making it one of the few districts in Kentucky whose boundaries cross county lines. Colleges and universities The University of the Cumberlands (formerly known as Cumberland College), located in Williamsburg, is the largest private university in Kentucky, and the only university with its main campus in Whitley County. The school's sports teams play on the NAIA level and provide college level sporting events for the local community. In addition, Eastern Kentucky University maintains a branch campus in the Whitley County portion of Corbin. Alcohol sales Whitley County, which had historically been dry, is now officially classified by the state as a moist county. This means that the sale of alcohol in the county is prohibited except in certain areas as voted on by the residents of the area, including at least one area of the county allowing full retail alcohol sales. In Whitley County, the areas that permit alcohol sales are: *The city of Corbin voted in February 2012 to allow full retail alcohol sales in the city limits after voting in 2006 to allow by the drink alcohol sales in qualifying restaurants. *The city of Williamsburg voted in June 2016 to allow full retail alcohol sales in the city limits after voting in 2012 to allow by the drink alcohol sales in qualifying restaurants.Voters in Whitley County vote yes to expanded alcohol sales Communities Cities *Corbin (partly in Knox County) *Williamsburg (county seat) Census-designated places *Emlyn *Pleasant View *Rockholds Unincorporated communities *Canada Town *Carpenter *Gatliff *Goldbug *Julip *Packard *Piney Grove *Saxton *Siler *Wofford *Woodbine *Yaden See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Whitley County, Kentucky References External links *The Kentucky Highlands Project Category:Counties of Kentucky Category:Whitley County, Kentucky Category:London, Kentucky micropolitan area Category:Counties of Appalachia Category:1818 establishments in Kentucky Category:Settlements established in 1818